Lane marker position sensor and alarm
First Claim
1. A method of detecting the position of a vehicle in a lane and signaling if the vehicle moves outside of the lane comprising the steps of:
- a) sensing at least one image of the roadway in front of said vehicle;
b) inputting the sensed image into a processor for lane marker identification;
c) processing the image using a contrast algorithm;
d) selecting areas in the processed image that have a higher contrast value than surrounding areas corresponding to lane markers;
e) mapping the position of the selected areas and comparing the mapped position with mapped position of a previously processed image;
f) comparing said processed image with a plurality of pre-stored roadway scenario images if no high contrast values are found; and
g) signaling if the comparative mapped positions of selected areas are outside a predetermined value.
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Abstract
A lane marker position sensor and alarm system for determining painted road lane markers and signaling when a vehicle has moved beyond a predetermined threshold distance with respect to lane marker. The system comprises an image sensor, a processor and an alarm. The processor uses contrast identification of the lane markers in real time, maps the position of the lane marker and compares the current mapped position with the most recent image data. The system of the present invention provides a low-cost, real-time solution of lane marker identification that can be retrofitted onto any vehicle.
70 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of detecting the position of a vehicle in a lane and signaling if the vehicle moves outside of the lane comprising the steps of:
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a) sensing at least one image of the roadway in front of said vehicle; b) inputting the sensed image into a processor for lane marker identification; c) processing the image using a contrast algorithm; d) selecting areas in the processed image that have a higher contrast value than surrounding areas corresponding to lane markers; e) mapping the position of the selected areas and comparing the mapped position with mapped position of a previously processed image; f) comparing said processed image with a plurality of pre-stored roadway scenario images if no high contrast values are found; and g) signaling if the comparative mapped positions of selected areas are outside a predetermined value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 13)
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3. A lane position detection system for a vehicle comprising:
at least one image sensor mounted on said vehicle for generating image data of a lane ahead of said vehicle;
a processor connected to said image sensor, said processor adapted to analyze said image data and identify a position of a lane marker with respect to said vehicle;
a program storage device coupled to said processor to store a lane marker identification and tracking algorithm and input said algorithm to said processor;
a preset parameter storage device coupled to said processor for storing a plurality of parameters for use by said algorithm;
a database connected to said processor, said database adapted to store a plurality of roadway image data for comparative use of said image data and said stored image data by said processor; and
an alarm connected to said processor, said alarm adapted to signal when the position of said vehicle moves beyond a predetermined distance with respect to said lane marker.- View Dependent Claims (4)
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5. A lane position detection system for a vehicle comprising:
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at least one image sensor mounted on said vehicle for generating image data of a lane ahead of said vehicle; a processor connected to said image sensor, said processor adapted to analyze said image data and identify a position of a lane marker with respect to said vehicle; a database controlled by said processor to store a plurality of roadway scenarios, said roadway scenarios being compared to said image data; and an alarm connected to said processor, said alarm adapted to signal when the position of said vehicle moves beyond a threshold distance with respect to said lane marker. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification